Billboard Honored With GLAAD Media Award at 2018 NYC Ceremony

Laverne Cox and Lea Michele attend the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at Mercury Ballroom at the New York Hilton on May 5, 2018 in New York City.

At a Saturday (May 5) night ceremony in Midtown Manhattan hosted by Ross Mathews, Billboard was honored with an award for Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage at the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards.

After the award was announced during a brief video montage, Lea Michele congratulated Billboard at the top of the jubilant awards show.

"All around us audiences are cramming into Broadway theaters, about to experience music, emotion, love, laughter and the transformative power of community," Michele said. "But guess what – you’ve got the best ticket in town. This the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards everybody, and we want to start by congratulating Billboard for taking home their first-ever GLAAD Media Award for Best Magazine. Thanks for all you do to support LGBTQ artists and allies."

The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community and the issues that affect their lives.

In 2017, the recently-launched Billboard Pride debuted the LGBTQ Love Letters project, which featured queer luminaries and allies sharing their love and support for the community. With letters from everyone from Barbra Streisand to Selena Gomez to Britney Spears (who wrote hers by hand) to RuPaul to Adam Lambert, the love letters fostered solidarity and acceptance in a year where it was sorely needed.

Under Pride Editor Patrick Crowley, Billboard continues to expand its coverage of LGBTQ artists and culture, from partnering with GLAAD to create a video of musicians speaking out against the military trans ban to shining a spotlight on rising queer talents who are often overlooked in the mainstream. Billboard Pride recently joined Instagram and Twitter, in addition to last year's launch of Billboard Pride on Facebook.

The 2018 NYC GLAAD Media Awards also honored director Ava DuVernay, actress Samira Wiley, and Gloria Carter, who spoke of her experience as a lesbian on her son JAY-Z’s 4:44 album. The evening also boasted a performance from Melissa Etheridge and Adam Lambert.